


Ah... Naptime?

by Kay_fiction



Series: A Heartbeat Between Life and Death [1]
Category: Death Stranding (Video Games)
Genre: Aphenphosmphobia, Awkwardness, Fluff, Gen, Naptime, Nightmares, Post-Game, cute nerds, heartman's carelessness, heartsam, if you squint a little - Freeform, tolerating touch, with is own condition lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 11:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22969336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kay_fiction/pseuds/Kay_fiction
Summary: Sam nods off and Heartman tries to wake him from a nightmare.
Relationships: Sam Porter Bridges & Heartman
Series: A Heartbeat Between Life and Death [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647367
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Ah... Naptime?

Sam was dozing off on his couch, while Heartman skimmed over some old research to refresh his memory, soft music played in the background. It felt warm, this domestic and quiet moment, probably the best thing the scientist felt in a long time.

He glanced at the porter and couldn’t help a smile. Sam’s head bowed forward, his hands loose in his lap, and he breathed deep and slow. Heartman wasn’t at all surprised at Sam’s exhaustion. He’d been busier than ever with winter coming; the preppers wanted to get in supplies or trade materials before the snows made it even harder for porters to bring in orders. And a great many of them requested Sam for the fragile materials, because they trusted him the most with their goods.

This train of thought was interrupted by a soft whine. Whine? Heartman’s eyes refocused on Sam, who’s face pinched in distress. His fingers twitched as if handling something delicate. The scientist got up from his chair.

**Three minutes to cardiac arrest.**

“Sam?” Heartman muted the AED alerts as he approached the couch. He didn’t want to touch the other man, as he’d never been given permission or any other indication that he was allowed to. “Sam, wake up…”

“C’mon, Lou,” he whimpered in a soft, broken voice Heartman had never heard before. Heartman sat gingerly beside the porter.

He was dreaming about Lou? Perhaps from before, when she was in the pod?

“Sam, Lou’s just fine,” he said, and put the lightest pressure on his shoulder, a gentle nudge. “Wake up, you’re dreaming.”

Tears traced a line down his cheek, and Heartman tried harder, open palm on the skin of Sam’s shoulder, shaking him. “Sam?” He spoke louder.

**5  
4  
3  
2  
1**

Heartman fell bonelessly forward onto Sam when his heart stopped. He’d been so intent on waking Sam, he ignored the countdown.

Sam jerked awake when Heartman’s weight fell on him. His eyes traveled wildly around the room, and down at the—technically dead—man unceremoniously flopped over him.

“Jesus, Heartman….” he murmured and grabbed him by the waist as he started to roll toward the ground. The porter moved and maneuvered until he could lay Heartman down on the couch, head resting on his thigh. When the shock of waking to Heartman falling on him had passed, Sam found it kind of funny…

Both in the “ha ha” way and in the confused “why?” kind of way. Three minutes pass quickly, it seemed, and Heartman’s body seized when the shock revived him.

“You back with the living, Heartman?” He asked, ironical and with a raised brow.

Heartman shot up into a sitting position and turned to lower his feet to the floor, then looked at Sam sheepishly.

“I am so sorry, Sam… I was—you were…” The scientist paused and ticked his head to one side, organizing his thoughts.

“Yeah, I was gonna ask what was up with…” Sam gestured from Heartman to himself.

“Okay, let me reframe this, coherently,” he tried to chuckle past the mild embarrassment, adjusting his glasses. “You had fallen asleep, and were having—what I will assume was a nightmare. I was attempting to wake you, but you were quite deeply embedded.”

“So you ignored your alarms again?”

That’s all he was going to ask? “I did. No point in denying that..”

Sam extended a hand and tapped Heartman in the back of the head. “Stop doing that. So what if I was having a bad dream? Nothing new to me.”

“I…” Heartman’s skin prickled as Sam’s hand came to rest on his shoulder. Something so unexpected he couldn’t find his words again. To his chagrin, he felt a flush of heat to his face. “I’m aware of your fairly consistent issues with nightmares. I just…”

A light squeeze, and Sam got up. “It’s fine. Thank you for trying to look out for me.”

“Sam. If I overstepped a boundary, I apologize…” he stood up, too, nerves fizzing with mild anxiety.

Sam sighed, feeling awkward. He didn’t want Heartman thinking there was a problem. The only problem was Sam’s own awkwardness and issues. He turned back, not quite meeting his eyes.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, really…. I’m just a little out of it.” Sam hesitantly shifted, then closed a hand on Heartman’s forearm, tugging him roughly closer and hugging him. Sam’s skin shivered and goosebumps rose at the contact, but overall it was good. A chill sweat prickled down his spine when Heartman hugged him back slowly.

Heartman himself was surprised and he couldn’t stop a grin and the flutter of success that came on him. Sam let go and backed up, looking a little tense but not unhappy about it.

“Thank you for that, Sam.” His voice was soft, and Sam could tell he enjoyed the exchange.

“Yeah… should go though. I’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

“Of course. Thank you for your deliveries. If you need a rest again on your way back through, please feel free to come in.”

Sam nodded and gathered his things, putting on the travel suit again quickly. Heartman retreated to his shelves of movies and books. There was nothing else he could say comfortably, and Sam was done talking for now. All he gave was a quiet farewell, to which Sam waved and disappeared out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated.
> 
> Come find more stuff on my tumblr @ heartshapedstrand.tumblr.com


End file.
